An Undefeated Foe

He was too powerful to take on alone. That fact would actually clarify why four captains had to try and apprehend him; Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro, Captain Ukitake Jushiro, and Captain Kyoraku Shunshi, along with their lieutenants'; Abarai Renji, Matsumoto Rangiku, Kotetsu Kiyone and Kotsubaki Sentaro, and Nanao Ise.

Also, the Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo was pursuing this indistinguishable culprit. It was someone he had never seen in Soul Society before, and what makes matters worse is that he's a kid. Their black kimono's and white haori's fluttered ungracefully in the chilling air as they swiftly disappeared and reappeared between trees.

"Hitsugaya," Ichigo started, his focus never leaving the perpetrator only thirty or forty yards ahead of them. Before the youngest Captain could even respond, Ichigo continued on. "What's the deal with this kid? What is he doing?"

"His name is Komaru. It's unclear as to what his primary goal is, but he seems to have singlehandedly tore through Seireitei's South and West gates without so much as a struggle from either Hikonyuto or Jidanbo." The silver-haired Captain replied, his tone was flat as though he spoke automatically while his mind pondered elsewhere. "But it is known that he has the ability to create natural disasters with his Zanpakuto, Sho-rodaichi."

"He took out those two big gate keepers without so much as breaking a sweat?" Ichigo mused aloud, and then he registered all that Toshiro had stated. "Wait! Zanpakuto? So he's a Shinigami?"

"He's definitely a shinigami," Renji interjected, his eyes glued to Komaru. Ichigo turned to him. He knew now wasn't the time, but he couldn't help himself from admiring such beauty. His tattooed face skewed in concentration as his hair was loosely dancing angrily against the winds, smacking into his shoulders with every jump he executed. "He doesn't have the reiatsu of a hollow, and he doesn't wear a mask to be an Arrancar."

"Perhaps he's a Visored," Nanao suggested.

"Perhaps," Hitsugaya replied. "I've never seen him around Soul Society, but whatever he is, he's a threat and he needs to be taken care of immediately." They hummed their concurrences. Ichigo looked ahead noting that this Komaru kid had red hair just like Renji, but a shade lighter, and far in the back of his mind he mindlessly wondered if his hair was as soft as the redhead that haunted his dreams.

His hair is thinner, but I doubt it's softer though. He thought to himself, and scolded himself immediately after for such meaningless thoughts. Damn it, Ichigo now is not the time, he growled, mentally berating himself.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Ichigo turned to the stoic Captain, noting that Byakuya was making the first move. He watched as the Sixth Division Captain's Zanpakuto shattered into a thousand little cherry blossoms, and with the flick of his wrist, the flowers dance after their prey.

"Howl! Zabimaru!" Renji shouted, thrusting his Zanpakuto forward, watching as it extended in segments towards its victim, blades readied.

He noted the red-haired kid look over his shoulder, smirking at the two incoming attacks, and that's when Ichigo noticed his eyes. They were red, just like his hair. They blazed with power and fearlessness. "Oh, please." He snickered. "You can all do better than that, can't you?" He turned around and aimlessly threw his arm out, a gust of wind swirling subsequently, deflecting both attacks before he disappeared behind the trees.

"C'mon. We can't lose him." Ukitake, Captain of the Thirteenth Squad, exulted. Before they could contemplate their next move, a wall of fire blazed in front of them, and they slowed, perplexed, before deciding to go around it.

"Ichigo!" Renji shouted after the oranget, who subjectively decided to go through the flames opposed to going around. He entered his bankai state and ripped past the wall.

Kyoraku laughed aloud. "That boy and his shenanigans."

"That wasn't a good idea," Nanao speculated. "He's already losing his spirit powers, and then he goes and uses his bankai? He's going to lose his powers before he even realize they're gone."

"We have to hurry!" Renji barked.

X:~/~:X

"I'm the only one who got past", Ichigo murmured to himself as he looked back at the wall spiraling flames. Natural disasters, eh?...There is nothing natural about that.

"So, you're first, hm?" The orange-haired shinigami halted his movements, and looked up, discerning Komaru standing on air as though it were concrete. Ichigo stood on a thick branch, the boy's voice having pulled him from his deliberations, and almost automatically, Ichigo's face twisted into a scowl as he stared up into bleeding eyes. The redhead held his Zanpakuto to his side, letting it nearly dangle from his fingertips. "Hmm. I was hoping for someone with a bit more power…It seems like yours is fading by the second," he sighed. "But nevertheless, you'll be one less pain in my ass."

Ichigo growled, pointing his blade at the boy's head. "What're you after, Komaru?" He spat his name like the plague, as though he wasn't able to get it off his tongue fast enough, and his eyes narrowed.

"Hm." The shorter Shinigami tilted his head to the side in confusion. "You know my name?" He lifted his sword onto his shoulder, tapping it against his neck, bemused. "Interesting. I don't ever recall telling you…I don't ever recall seeing you around before, because I was certain I kept myself hidden." He contemplated. "Tell me, what is your name, boy?"

Ichigo snorted mockingly. Boy? He thought. The kid was about five foot five, where in the hell did he get off calling someone boy. Ichigo tightened his grip on the hilt of Zangetsu. "Kurosaki Ichigo," he answered defiant. "Now, answer my question. What are you looking for in Seireitei?"

Komaru's tapping ceased, and he smirked. "That doesn't matter. All that matters for you right now, Kurosaki Ichigo," he bit off, imitating the taller Shinigami, "is that you have all of about two minutes…more accurately, a minute and a half, until your comrades arrive." Komaru's smirk widened. "You think you can survive until then?"

Ichigo snarled in the back of his throat as his grip tightened more, readying himself with one foot forward and bringing both hands to rest on his blade's hilt. He glowered, seething as Komaru's smirk only widened as he prepared himself for the fight that was inevitable to commence.

In the blink of an eye the redhead threw his sword into the ground. "Devour, Sho-rodaichi." He chanted before Ichigo couldn't even calculate what had happened. Instantly the ground began to rumble violently until what sounded like a car crash echoed and the ground split in half; one crack at a time.

Ichigo stood mortified, eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the growing fissure. An earthquake? "Ahhh!" Komaru cried out, and reflexively Ichigo jumped into the air, standing on concrete winds. Abruptly the ground spilt in two, swallowing everything in its path.

Ichigo looked down into the hole. He couldn't see the bottom. It was as if he'd fall forever if it were his fate to plummet into that massive beast. It was huge, consuming at least ten miles in its wake. It actually looked like the Earth had opened its mouth to devour him. His eyes quivered slightly. The next thing he knew he heard metal clashing and turned to see, and feel Komaru aggressively shoving against his sword.

"Pay attention or I might just kill you." He mocked; grinning at Ichigo's still widened eyes. When did he grab his sword? The oranget inquired to himself. He looked down at the massive abyss from the corner of his eye, noting that his Zanpakuto was still wedged into the ground. He looked back at him and the sword in his childlike hands; hands that held so much strength for only a child. Where did this sword come from? Komaru let out another battle cry, dragging his thin katana into Ichigo's, forcing the berry to plummet.

The oranget broke through the ground, rubble of rocks and debris surrounding him. Then a potent gust of wind whirled, and he found himself sliding into that dark abyss. Instinctively, he plundered Zangetsu into the side of the rock as friction to help stop him from plundering to what was undeniably, certain death. C'mon Ichigo, get it together. He pepped to himself, enclosed in the darkness of the huge trench Komaru had created.

"Is that it?" Komaru asked. Ichigo looked up towards the voice, the darkness obscuring his vision. Komaru stood by his own Zanpakuto, an unimpressed scowl adorn his childish features, his fiery red orbs hidden behind lilied lids. "Hmph. You couldn't even last a minute against me…you're pathetic, Kurosaki Ichigo." He turned his back before wrenching his sword from the dirt, a familiar rumbling rocketing through the earth. Incessant tremors wrecked Ichigo's body until he realized that the mouth was closing in around him.

"Shit." He jerked eloquently on the hilt of Zangetsu, pulling his sword from the rock, falling yet again until he gathered his footings and kicked off the wall before flying top-speed to the narrowing opening. "Black Moon Fang!" Ichigo swiftly swung his blade towards the aperture, a red and black crescent moon shape erupting from the tip, and created a big enough hole for him to slip through. He landed on his feet with a strenuous umph. "Where do you think you're going?" Ichigo called after discerning Komaru getting ready to run off again, his breathing was labored as his spiritual energy was gradually dissipating. He was nearly exhausted and he had hardly done anything.

Damn it. I can't keep using my energy like this. I have to end this quickly. Komaru turned around, grinning. What the hell is wrong with this kid? "What's funny?" Ichigo growled, annoyed with his constant grinning. The redhead chuckled.

"It's obvious that you're near your limit, do you really want to continue on with this?" Ichigo didn't answer, instead he flash stepped, and appearing behind him, he thrust his sword into his back, only to have the afterimage of the shorter vanish into thin air. An illusion? Ichigo inquired. He looked up when he heard that condescending chuckle that was beginning to boil his blood. "You got fifteen seconds, Kurosaki Ichigo." He smirked.

Ichigo held a snarl in the back of his throat.

I have enough for one more Black Moon Fang! Ichigo clenched his teeth. I need to find an opening on him somehow. They stared each other down for five seconds until Komaru grinned and Ichigo flash stepped around him, leaving afterimages of himself behind. "Is this all you could think to do? Illusions?" Komaru blatantly laughed, and Ichigo couldn't help but think of how his laugh reminded him of his inner hollow. That loud, high-pitched cackle having him bleeding out the ears for days. "You really are pathetic!" He cackled.

Komaru curled into himself like a ball, and abruptly released a huge amount of spiritual energy when he flung himself out, followed by another battle cry. Feral winds whirled in every possible direction.

"Black Moon Fang!" Another red and black crescent moon flared from his blade, colliding with the enraged winds, slicing through them. Komaru turned around, eyes bulging from the unexpected assail. He put his arms up in a futile effort to shield himself from the impact.

The crescent moon exploded upon impact leaving a cloud of smoke behind. He clenched his teeth when the burning of Ichigo's attack left red markings along his forearms, stinging and irritating his skin as it scorched painfully, but he ignored it. "Ha! Was that all you had?" Komaru taunted, grinning through the clearing smoke and flicked his wrist, manipulating the winds to blow the cloud of smoke away. He felt a brief moment of panic knot in his chest when he couldn't find Ichigo on the ground below or anywhere else. His spiritual pressure had completely disappeared.

"Ahhh!" Ichigo cried, coming down on top of the redhead, Zangetsu tingling in his hands from the satisfaction of wanting to cut him in half. Komaru couldn't move fast enough, his grin seemingly erased permanently from his features as his eyes grew even larger than before, watching his reflection in the stainless black daito that would end his existence.

The blade stopped. It was a mere centimeter from slicing him to pieces. Ichigo felt resistance around his wrist. "What the hell?" Ichigo exclaimed, turning to look over his shoulder. "Let go, damn —" his eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as he saw the redhead gripping his wrist, a smug look on his handsome face. "There are two of you?"

"Hmph," he answered dryly, and without a moment's hesitation he sheathed his sword into Ichigo's back, and the orange-haired shinigami let out a strangled cry. Ichigo turned back to the first Komaru standing in front of him, noting the cocky grin had returned to his countenance, tugging potently at his lips. Then Ichigo felt something impale into his abdomen before he bawled over and coughed up blood, all the color in his face paling.

He shakily looked down to see a blue light speared into his gut, and it wasn't until that light sank deeper and Ichigo coughed up more blood did he realized that it was Komaru's fist covered in pure reiatsu. "Sayonara, Kurosaki Ichigo." Both whispered dauntingly, and unceremoniously the second redhead ripped the blade from his innards.

"Ichigo!" Renji shouted. But before the orange-haired shinigami could respond he felt Komaru's hand open in his stomach and all he remembered afterwards was an explosion as it rang through his ears and ignited against his body, the blast sending him soaring into the air. "Bankai!" Renji bellowed, his reiatsu flaring madly. "Hihio Zabimaru!"

"Bankai," Byakuya's austere voice broke in. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Then in the next instant a giant bamboo snake was created and a million little cherry blossoms fluttered and danced across the sky.

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!" Hitsugaya's reiatsu skyrocketed as the silver-haired Captain sprouted ice wings from his back, and a dragon's mouth on his right hand and iced dragon claws as feet. He slashed the air around him, a frozen dragon roaring from his Zanpakuto before flying towards the younger redheads.

The grinning Komaru used shunpo to flash step higher into the air above the oranget who was soaring lifelessly into the air. The second redheaded twin disappeared into the depths of the forest, opting to make his getaway.

Suddenly his leg began to glow a brilliant blue as he concentrated his reiatsu into it, and waited for the Substitute Shinigami to come into proximity and he smashed his leg, glowing with intense reiatsu, into his back, sending him shooting through Renji, Byakuya and Hitsugaya's bankai like a military missile.

Hitsugaya's dragon was shattered into little shards of ice. Zabimaru's snake form was obliterated into dust, and Byakuya's million cherry blossoms were disarrayed, and set ablaze from the power and velocity Ichigo was sent rocketing passed them. "Ichigo!" Renji screamed, drawling the last syllable as he crashed into the ground, leaving an enormous crater, bounced before breaking through four trees and finally skidding to a stop on his back.

"Ichigo!" Renji yelled, running back towards him, the others towed, save for Byakuya and Hitsugaya who shunpo beside the Substitute Shinigami.

Komaru cackled loudly. His laugh very closely resembling that of Shirosaki; Ichigo's darker half. "You're wasting your time…I'd be surprised if he isn't dead by now. But I have to give it to him. He did last until you all arrived." He laughed tauntingly.

Renji snarled. "I'm going to fucking kill you!" The older redhead growled, but it only seemed to cause the younger to laugh harder.

"Good luck with that." He grinned. "He already tried," he said, nodding towards the motionless orange haired man, "and you see the result of it. You wouldn't last any longer than he did." He taunted, flicking his tongue. He saw Renji clench his teeth and clutch his fist tightly around Zabimaru's hilt, and Komaru gave him a cocky smirk in return. "Instead of tensing up you might want to see if you can save him…I mean," he shrugged, "it's useless at this point, but you could always try, eh?"

Renji only stiffened more. "Chao for now…but I'll definitely be back. You still have something that I need. But I'll see you around, right?" He waited for a reply. "Well…maybe not him," he again nodded to Ichigo and heard Renji literally roar before laughing aloud again. "Sayonara." He smirked and then was gone in a flash.

Renji's reiatsu was consumed with rage as his nostrils flared and his hand clenched around Zabimaru so tightly that blood ran down his wrist. "Calm down, Abarai-kun," Ukitake said. "He was only trying to upset you."

"Well he did a damn good job at it." Renji snarled.

"Don't worry yourself about it. We'll get him, but right now we need to see if there is a chance that Kurosaki-kun will make it through this." He replied and Renji almost instantly relinquished his anger to see what he could do.

"You're right." Nanao lifted Ichigo's tattered frame and gasped when her hand was covered with blood and she saw the grotesqueness of his back. It was raw, completely skinned.

"He's still breathing…somewhat. His back could get infected easily, but before that could even happen he'd die from the loss of blood. If we don't hurry back now, it's very likely he's going to die in this condition." She surmised. Kyoraku, without a word, lifted the boy over his shoulder.

"Let's go then," he sighed and disappeared, the others towed. Renji turned to look at the crater Ichigo's body caused. It was absolutely mortifying. That on top of all the blood that's splattered against the ground, and in, and across the trees and bushes, penetration wounds and how severely and nasty his back was skinned, he knew it would be a miracle if he survived.

Ichigo, Renji thought. Please…just don't die…not before I get the chance to tell you…not before…He heaved a dejected sigh. Then, in the blink of an eye, vanished.


Okay so I had to do it this way. But bear with me. I don't like made up characters but "Komaru" needed to be here, but he won't be showing up for a long time. So, just bear with me for a second.

AND TO THOSE WHO JUST WANTED TO KNOW: Komaru is a real Japanese name, and in Japanese it means, to be worried, or bothered, and Sho-rodaichi means Crying Earth, but it's actually sho-ro (crying) and daichi (earth). I just put the two together, sooo yeah…J

~Reluctimist~